Author Topic: Escheron: Presage of Darkness (Read 39017 times)

Zera · « **Reply #45 on:** March 07, 2010, 07:35:56 pm »

Quote from: ProphetsDementia on March 07, 2010, 07:11:28 pm

Is it possible to share your formulas for level experience caps and stats for level?
I'm making an RPG of my own and would love to know.

If you think the experience system I designed would work in one of your games, you're welcome to use it. I wouldn't mind helping you design something else, for that matter. Here's what I've come up with so far:

The character's primary statistics are HP, MP, ATT, DEF and base evasion. The accuracy of physical attacks merely check the evasion of the target being attacked. Each target has its own base chance of evading an attack. The player character may slightly improve his evasion by equipping shields. ATT and DEF represent damage and damage reduction, respectively. Each represents a formula where the damage is slightly dynamic: DEF/4..total DEF (round up) - generate a random number between these values to determine damage reduction from a single enemy attack ATT/2..total ATT (round up) - generate a random number between these values - subtract damage reduction to determine damage output against a single enemy If 0, credit 1 point. If critical, multiply by 1.5. If targetting weakness, ignore target DEF. Critical chance is tied directly into weapons. Character initiative and movement range are defined by level: LV 01-05 - Range 3 - Initiative 2 LV 06-10 - Range 4 - Initiative 2 LV 11-15 - Range 5 - Initiative 4 LV 16-20 - Range 6 - Initiative 4 LV 21-25 - Range 7 - Initiative 6 LV 25+ - Range 8 - Initiative 6 Initiative represents turn rate. The system should check for the highest initiative on a target, and allow that target to move first, then the second-highest, and so forth. Targets with equal initiative are randomly selected. Specific kinds of armor will increase the character weight, and reduce movement range by one or two points; likewise for initiative. Some equipment will also increase this value. The maximum of either value is 16. Enemies give small amounts of exp., ranging from 1-10 points. Bosses automatically increase the player level by 1. Each level gives a small HP and MP bonus, and very rarely, a natural improvement in ATT and DEF or combative skills. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ | LV | HP | MP | Evade | Other | EX.| |----+----+----+-------+--------------------------------------------------+----| | 01 | 12 | 08 | n/a | ... | 20 | | 02 | 14 | 09 | n/a | ATT +1 | 30 | | 03 | 16 | 10 | n/a | ... | 30 | | 04 | 18 | 11 | 01/48 | | 30 | | 05 | 20 | 13 | 01/48 | ATT +1; DEF +1; 01/60 chance to counterattack | 40 | | 06 | 22 | 14 | 01/48 | ... | 40 | | 07 | 24 | 15 | 01/48 | | 40 | | 08 | 26 | 16 | 01/48 | ocassionally resist poison (1/2) | 40 | | 09 | 28 | 17 | 01/48 | ... | 50 | | 10 | 30 | 19 | 01/48 | DEF +1; 01/40 chance to attack twice | 50 | | 11 | 32 | 20 | 01/48 | ... | 50 | | 12 | 34 | 21 | 01/40 | ... | 50 | | 13 | 36 | 22 | 01/40 | ... | 50 | | 14 | 38 | 23 | 01/40 | | 60 | | 15 | 40 | 25 | 01/40 | ATT +1; 01/40 chance to counterattack | 60 | | 16 | 42 | 26 | 01/40 | ocassionally resist paralysis (1/2) | 60 | | 17 | 44 | 27 | 01/40 | ... | 60 | | 18 | 48 | 28 | 01/40 | ... | 60 | | 19 | 50 | 29 | 01/40 | ... | 60 | | 20 | 52 | 32 | 01/32 | ATT +1; DEF +1; 01/20 chance to attack twice | 70 | | 21 | 56 | 34 | 01/32 | ... | 70 | | 22 | 60 | 36 | 01/32 | ... | 70 | | 23 | 64 | 38 | 01/32 | ... | 70 | | 24 | 68 | 40 | 01/32 | ... | 70 | | 25 | 72 | 43 | 01/32 | DEF +1; 01/20 chance to counterattack | 70 | | 26 | 76 | 45 | 01/32 | ... | 70 | | 27 | 80 | 47 | 01/32 | ... | 80 | | 28 | 84 | 49 | 01/24 | ... | 80 | | 29 | 88 | 51 | 01/24 | ... | 80 | | 30 | 92 | 54 | 01/24 | ATT +1; DEF +1 | 80 | | 30+| +1 | +1 | 01/24 | ... | 99 | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ The player may progress as high as level 30. After that, a dagger appears next to the level, and exp. required is set to 99. Further levels are not indicated, and only increase HP and MP by 1. (essentially, the player may level-up indefinitely) Although not displayed beyond 99, HP and MP can be raised as high as 255. If counterattack or double-attack feats are gained, these are reported as "combat skills improved." ATT and DEF base can be raised as high as 8. (through the use of stat-boosting items)

DJ Omnimaga · « **Reply #46 on:** March 07, 2010, 08:19:43 pm »

Interesting

For smaller games, it's good sometimes to have lower level cap.

In Illusiat series, I always wanted to be able to get to 99, but it was unnecessary finally. The result in the early games is a level up almost every battle, sometimes even 2 or 3. In the TI-81 remake of Illusiat, the level cap is 30 and if I take on the Illusiat 2012 project I talked about a while ago on IRC, which would be a remake of Illusiat 1 and 2 again, the first part would end around LV 10 or 15.

In my last RPGs that were not remakes, Reuben series, the hours of gameplay are much lower. I believe it's 15 or 20.

Zera · « **Reply #47 on:** March 07, 2010, 10:08:12 pm »

Quote from: DJ Omnimaga on March 07, 2010, 08:19:43 pm

Interesting

For smaller games, it's good sometimes to have lower level cap.

In Illusiat series, I always wanted to be able to get to 99, but it was unnecessary finally. The result in the early games is a level up almost every battle, sometimes even 2 or 3. In the TI-81 remake of Illusiat, the level cap is 30 and if I take on the Illusiat 2012 project I talked about a while ago on IRC, which would be a remake of Illusiat 1 and 2 again, the first part would end around LV 10 or 15.

In my last RPGs that were not remakes, Reuben series, the hours of gameplay are much lower. I believe it's 15 or 20.

This is one reason I sometimes disregard experience levels in favor of another system. It doesn't make the whole system look too trivial by having only a handful of possible levels, and it gets the job done. Plus, I enjoy conceiving them.

Zera · « **Reply #48 on:** March 10, 2010, 03:16:33 am »

Working on the tileset some more.

I've been tweaking some tiles to be slightly smaller, to seem more to-scale with the size of actual characters on the map. For instance: It might look odd if a treasure chest or a piece of pottery is larger than a character sprite. I also added some variation with multiple types of mountains, and a selection of dirt, rocks, grass, flowers, etc.

All maps are going to be 16x16. I think this is a reasonable resolution. I don't intend for battlefields to be huge and chock-full of enemies. Your only fighting force is Anaximander, and the ocassional guest character. For that matter, dungeons and towns will be the same size; but these maps are going to have stairwells leading to other levels and rooms.

There won't be a world map you can freely explore, but rather a printed map with location names. New location names would appear on the map as you progress through each chapter, allowing you to freely select previous locations you want to revisit. (i.e., similar to Final Fantasy Tactics)

Towns will feature shops and NPCs. You can buy and sell equipment, or donate gold to magic guilds in order to learn spells. There won't be inns, as the player's status will automatically recover after batles. Curative items and spells will only be used in combat.

DJ Omnimaga · « **Reply #49 on:** March 10, 2010, 03:22:22 am »

This really looks awesome, you're putting so much awesome work in this

Zera · « **Reply #50 on:** March 10, 2010, 11:03:54 am »

One thing I'm a bit hung-up on is tile animation. I haven't figured out how that might work in BASIC + xLib, or Celtic. I wanted to be able to animate the water in some way, but I'm not sure how yet. In Escheron, there actually aren't multiple tiles in the tileset just for animations; instead, the water is animated by having it scroll pixel-by-pixel. I don't think a similar effect could be done here, although it would be nice.

Just to elaborate, I don't think there will be any smooth-scrolling. I never planned for the game to be very robust in the first place. I thought unit movements on the maps would be restricted to "jumping" from tile to tile. (while walking in place at all times) Maybe this isn't as taxing as having actual scrolling, but I also wonder how it affects the potential to animate tiles like water.

I've also been working on equipment:

- [Ev] represents how total evasion chance is derived. These values are negative because they lower the denominator. For instance: If Anaximander's normal evasion is 1/56, and a piece of equipment lowers it by -4, then evasion becomes 1/52. (meaning he evades approx. 1 out of 56 attacks directed at him) Remember that base evasion is defined by Anaximander's level. Adding equipment often has a cumulative effect on this value. - [Crit] defines Anaximander's chance of scoring a critical hit. This value is exclusive to weapons, and can't be changed by other equipment or conditions. - "Destructible" armour will be destroyed when Anaximander is attacked by enemies that destroy target armour; destructible weapons will be destroyed when Anaximander attacks an enemy that is acidic. Shields and helmets are not affected. - Celibrax is immune to all weapons and spells until Anaximander attacks him with the Clarent blade. This breaks his defence, making him vulnerable to everything else. - "M.DMG" represents how much damage is reduced from a magickal attack. (cumulative) Normally, there is no defence against magick. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Swords | AT | DF | Ev | Crit | Special ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ BRONZE | +1 | .. | .. | 1/56 | destructible SILVER | +2 | .. | .. | 1/48 | destructible DRACHEN | +4 | .. | .. | 1/48 | destructible; +4 damage vs. dragons CHTHONIC | +1 | .. | .. | 1/48 | destructible; +4 damage vs. undead ADAMANT | +5 | .. | .. | 1/32 | ... SCATHING | +1 | .. | .. | 1/48 | fire-elemental; cast INFERNO (1/8) GALVANIC | +1 | .. | .. | 1/32 | lightning-elemental; cast SHOCKING GRASP (1/8) MEPHITIC | +1 | .. | .. | 1/56 | cast BLOOD MIASMA (1/8) BINDING | +1 | .. | .. | 1/56 | incur paralysis (1/8) OLEANDER | -1 | .. | .. | 1/96 | incur instant death (1/8) SANGUINE | -1 | .. | .. | 1/96 | restore own HP equal to 1/2 damage dealt CRITICAL | +2 | .. | -1 | 1/16 | +1 initiative; if target mHP <40, reduce to 1 AVENGING | +3 | +1 | .. | 1/48 | always counterattack CLARENT | +6 | .. | .. | 1/28 | break Celibrax defence; cast BLIGHT (1/8) ETHEREAL | .. | .. | -2 | 1/96 | ignore target DEF METEORIC | +2 | .. | .. | 1/56 | cast METEOR SWARM (1/8) EXALTED | +8 | .. | .. | 1/08 | always attack twice CURSED | -8 | .. | .. | 1/96 | cannot be removed * ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ Shields | AT | DF | Ev | Crit | Special ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ BRONZE | .. | .. | -1 | .. | ... SILVER | .. | +1 | -2 | .. | ... DRACHEN | .. | +1 | -2 | .. | resist fire; M.DMG -1 CHTHONIC | .. | .. | -2 | .. | resist paralysis ADAMANT | .. | +2 | -4 | .. | ... HERALDIC | .. | +2 | -4 | .. | M.DMG -4 AEGIS | .. | +2 | -8 | .. | resist instant death; M.DMG -1 CURSED | .. | -2 | +8 | .. | cannot be removed * ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ Helmets | AT | DF | Ev | Crit | Special ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ BRONZE | .. | +1 | .. | .. | ... SILVER | .. | +2 | .. | .. | ... DRACHEN | .. | +2 | .. | .. | resist fire; M.DMG -1 CHTHONIC | .. | +1 | .. | .. | resist osmosis ADAMANT | .. | +3 | .. | .. | ... COLOSSUS | +2 | +1 | .. | .. | ... SERAPHIC | .. | .. | .. | .. | regenerate 1 HP/MP each turn; M.DMG -1 OPHIDIAN | .. | .. | .. | .. | halve MP cost of all spells; M.DMG -2 VALKYRIE | .. | +1 | -2 | .. | auto-set flight status; +1 move CURSED | .. | -4 | .. | .. | cannot be removed * ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ Armour | AT | DF | Ev | Crit | Special ---------+----+----+----+------+------------------------------------------------ BRONZE | .. | +1 | .. | .. | destructible SILVER | .. | +2 | .. | .. | destructible DRACHEN | .. | +3 | .. | .. | destructible; resist fire; M.DMG -1 CHTHONIC | .. | +2 | .. | .. | destructible; resist energy-drain DIAMOND | .. | +4 | +2 | .. | resist lightning; M.DMG -1; -1 move ADAMANT | .. | +5 | +2 | .. | M.DMG -2; -1 move COLOSSUS | +4 | +2 | +2 | .. | -1 move MIRAGE | .. | +1 | -4 | .. | auto-set invisibility status PHOENIX | .. | +2 | .. | .. | auto-set renancence status ETHEREAL | .. | .. | -8 | .. | M.DMG -4; +1 move CURSED | .. | -8 | +4 | .. | cast SANCTUARY at turn; (1/8) cannot be removed

Anaximander can equip a selection of swords, shields, helmets and body armor. Some will have passive abilities, or allow him to resist various elements and status effects. The player will have an inventory appropriately sized to hold every piece of equipment, but won't be allowed to stack redundant items. I'm thinking that, when the player encounters a redundant item, they are given the option to exchange it for gold then and there. (i.e., an enemy drops a sword Anaximander already has, so Anaximander gets the equivalent of gold instead)

I haven't created usable items yet, but these will function in a similar manner. As opposed to stacking redundant items, things like potions would have multiple uses until they were empty.

DJ Omnimaga · « **Reply #51 on:** March 10, 2010, 02:38:18 pm »

in xLIB/Celtic, to have tilemaps animation, you simply switch back and forth from a tileset to another every two frame (or every frame if the game runs at 2 fps). It just takes a considerable amount of memory if the game has like 120 tiles. However, this can be worked around by making sure to disable animation in specific maps where those tiles won't be used, and have these tiles all on the same picture. That way you don't need to copy duplicate tiles in two pics too much, just the ones used in maps containing animated ones.

and I love the equipment and their properties :O

ztrumpet · « **Reply #52 on:** March 10, 2010, 04:35:52 pm »

That's awesome! If I read that correctly, than you can only have one of any object. That's neat. It looks great so far!

Zera · « **Reply #53 on:** March 10, 2010, 04:41:32 pm »

Time for some spoilers. I've written most of the story synopsis, and am working on bits of the script. I wanted to go with something more Shakespearean this time, so I'm brushing-up on my syntax. Below is a small exerpt of script from the game: (highlight the text to read it, as it contains spoilers)

Heraclitus: Thou speaketh of betrayal, but to whom didst My Lord come to for succour in his time of need? It was I. I hadst no choice but to share my lord's anguish and surrender myself to his every waking desire. I hath even bore the shame of sharing my lord's bed. Democritus' lust for power and carnality was legendary; but 'tis not my meagre lot in this life to offer myself in servitude of others. My destiny is much greater than thou canst imagine, Anaximander. Upon the Throne of God himself, I shalt govern all of Escheron; and 'tis in this governance that I shalt deliver Escheron from complete ruin.

Anaximander: And how many wilt suffer for your ascendancy, Heraclitus? Just as thou hast suffered at the whim of Democritus, thou still seek the bane of power. Dost thou still not understand? Power is the ruin of good men.

Heraclitus: Thou wilt be compelled by the Sovereign Grace of the Abyss, just as well. All must become clear in the passing of time, Anaximander. There canst be no other way.

If you would be interested in a general synopsis of the story, details follow: (highlight)

Following Lord Democritus' campaign against the Arcanians of Wynn, Anaximander learns of the existence of the Abyss: A force of chaos born of the war of Heaven. Ages ago, the gods that governed Escheron engaged in a great war, reducing Heaven to ruin. Their powers lived on without any order to maintain them, and gradually spiraled into chaos. This chaos began to find its way into the hearts and minds of mortal men -- often monarchs and great political leaders. Using this influence, it attempted to create a gravity between itself and the mortal world, with the ultimate goal of drawing Escheron into its event horizon. It becomes apparent that Democritus' conquest is the result of this influence.

Democritus eventually procures the Stygian Phalanx: A relic that allows him to transcend to a state of immorality. In this state, he cannot be harmed by mortal weapons, and Anaximander remains powerless to defeat him. Democritus proceeds toward the Throne of God, with the intention of ascending into the Abyss itself. Heraclitus -- Democritus' most loyal right-hand man -- has secretly coveted Democritus' power for some time, and seizes the opportunity to push Democritus away and ascend the throne himself. In doing so, he becomes all-powerful, and destroys Democritus' immortal form. The newly ascendant Heraclitus is called upon by the Abyss to travel to the Altar of Darkness and invoke the powers of the fallen god Celibrax, with the promise that he will be given Escheron to do as he pleases with. Invoking the power of Celibrax, Heraclitus' soul is destroyed, and Celibrax seizes control of his body. Anaximander must find a way to destroy the incipient Celibrax before he can return to full power, and draw Escheron into the Abyss.

There is a moral to the story: Power corrupts.

ztrumpet · « **Reply #54 on:** March 10, 2010, 04:48:39 pm »

That's awesome! You're an awesome writer!

Thoust is also awesome whenith you speakith in a Shakespearean dialect.

That is an amazing storyline.

DJ Omnimaga · « **Reply #55 on:** March 10, 2010, 11:00:58 pm »

Wow nice!

Zera · « **Reply #56 on:** March 19, 2010, 12:31:41 pm »

Working on arranging the status screen. Had to omit max HP / MP display to extend the right window for additional details. The icons next to the portrait represent poison and energy-drain status inflicted on the character. Other effects would not need to be indicated on this screen. (paralysis, in fact, would prevent the player from even checking status) The heart and decanter icons represent HP and MP, respectively. This allows me an extra 8x8 px of space, as opposed to using actual HP / MP text strings. MOVE and ACT represent the character's movement range during his turn in battle, and his initiative. (at what priority he gets to take a turn)

Working on my Shakespeare, as well.

DJ Omnimaga · « **Reply #57 on:** March 19, 2010, 01:47:58 pm »

pretty nice

, I like how you have HP/MP with icons. Will there be a way to see max/min HP somewhere in menu, tho? Else it might be hard to know when you're cured to maximum

Zera · « **Reply #58 on:** March 19, 2010, 03:20:01 pm »

I will probably have to add it back to the status screen, somehow. I'm trying to figure out how to get more space.

DJ Omnimaga · « **Reply #59 on:** March 19, 2010, 03:27:39 pm »

cramming many stuff into small screen is one hard challenge, altough for some reasons, I really like it sometimes. One biggest challenge I had was making Reuben Quest The Lost Mirror entire menu fit in one single screen to save as much memory as I could. In Illusiat 13, I had to find a way to cram the 4 equipments (rings), elemental protection level, atk/def/mag/spd, gold, experience, lv, hp/max hp, next lv experience and stuff in one status screen and I used the home screen, which is 16x8 characters.

EDIT: I have no screenshot of Reuben 2 menu handy but this video thumbnail shows how it looks like

Author Topic: Escheron: Presage of Darkness (Read 39017 times)

Zera

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DJ Omnimaga

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Zera

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Zera

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DJ Omnimaga

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Zera

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ztrumpet

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Zera

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ztrumpet

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DJ Omnimaga

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Zera

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Zera

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